


The General's Quarters

by tastygoldentaters



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, am I comparing ShinRa to Nazis? absolutely, based on the movie Suite Française
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 00:01:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15918894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tastygoldentaters/pseuds/tastygoldentaters
Summary: When the slum residents threaten to strike against ShinRa after a startling increase of monsters in the area, ShinRa officers and SOLDIER members are sent to the slums to investigate. Against their will, the residents have to host them in their residences, and the biggest house in Sector 5, that of Elmyra Gainsborough, is reserved for General Sephiroth, SOLDIER 1st class.





	The General's Quarters

**Author's Note:**

> Real life threw some bombs at me and that kept me from writing fanfiction for a long time, but lo and behold I am back with some AeriSeph content! I haven't forgotten about my Mermaid!AU either, I'm going to post a rewritten version soon, and I also have another Canon-divergent fic on the way! Enjoy!

Aeris couldn’t remember a time when she could leave the house without her staff. Going out unarmed was dangerous enough even for people who weren’t wanted by the Turks, but recently things were getting worse. Encounters with monsters were getting more frequent every day, to the point where people were afraid of leaving their houses altogether. They were rationing food to avoid going outside, and there were rumours of workers with jobs above the plate organising a strike.

Her mother tried her best to dissuade her from leaving each morning, and each morning she failed. The meager pension Elmyra received from ShinRa after her husband was killed in the war just wasn’t enough, and if Turks didn’t stop Aeris from selling her flowers to make ends meet, neither would monsters.

She was coming out of the abandoned church after spending the morning tending to her flowers when informative pamphlets seemed to rain down from the plate. The P.A. rang a tone and a robotic voice started an announcement, loud enough to be heard over the choppers that dispensed the papers.

“ATTENTION, ALL RESIDENTS. FOR SAFETY REASONS, MEMBERS OF SOLDIER WILL BE STATIONED AT YOUR SECTOR. THOSE HOSTING SOLDIER OFFICIALS MUST RETURN TO THEIR HOMES IMMEDIATELY TO AWAIT FOR THEIR ARRIVAL.”

On the pamphlets, pictures of a man with long silver hair, wearing a long black coat, took most of the space in the paper, along with the words in large letters: “PEOPLE OF MIDGAR — TRUST SHINRA TO PROTECT YOU”. The man, of course, was Sephiroth — ShinRa’s war hero. Aeris had heard many stories about him, but they couldn’t possibly be true, not all of them. The stories ranged from defeating an entire Wutai garrison on his own, to having never shed a single tear. Some even told ludicrous tales of how his hair had a different scent each day. She snickered and flipped the pamphlet to find a list of addresses in the Sector 5 slums that would host ShinRa officials and members of SOLDIER.

Shit.

With her hands shaking, she crumpled the pamphlet into a ball and made her way home as fast as her legs could take her, and the closer she got to the house with the dark pink roof her mother and her had painted themselves, the more her eyes burned with angry tears getting stuck to her lashes. Elmyra was waiting for her at the door, eyes red and swollen. Aeris rushed to her, dropping her basket at the doorstep.

“Are they here already?”

Her mother didn’t answer, but nodded her head towards the garden, where a man in a dark blue suit stood alone. Aeris removed a fire materia from one of her bangles and put it in Elmyra’s hands.

“Mom, stay inside. Use this if you have to.” The older woman tried to protest, but Aeris didn’t let her speak. “I know that man. I’ll try to get more information. I swear I won’t let them take me. I swear.”

They exchanged nervous nods, both trying to reassure the other that they would be fine, despite neither of them being sure of that. Aeris gave her mother a light squeeze on her arms, and stepped back from the door, waiting for her to get inside. Elmyra never broke eye contact until the door closed. Be strong, was what she meant with that look. It gave Aeris the resolute look she needed when she walked up to the garden.

“Tseng.”

“Aeris.”

They didn’t face each other. Instead, Tseng observed the flowers, lightly touching their yellow petals with curiosity.

“Are you the one staying with us?”

Aeris wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. On one hand, she knew Tseng, and she knew he wouldn’t hand her to ShinRa if he could help it… but he wouldn’t be able to avoid it if he were to be put under supervision. He was never her protector, but he didn’t hunt her either; that was their deal — he would not bring her in as long as she didn’t try to flee. Free, but not really.

He looked up to her for the first time, his face serious as always.

“No. He’s with SOLDIER, and he doesn’t know who you are. To him, you will be just a girl from the slums. If you’re cautious, that is.”

His hands were now away from the flowers and tucked in his pockets, as he turned around and walked away.

“Some would think it impossible to grow flowers in Midgar…”

Aeris watched him leave without a word. She _was_ cautious. And she didn’t need a Turk telling her something innocuous as growing flowers would give her away. She was well aware she was different, and the last thing she wanted to do was to reveal that to someone who worked for the same people who wanted to confine her to a lab.

…

It was almost night when Elmyra and Aeris heard the commotion outside the door. They had spent that time discussing what to do, and after Aeris clarified that the SOLDIER staying with them didn’t know about her, Elmyra felt calm enough to come up with a plan. Namely, to not interact with the SOLDIER at all. _Do not look at him, do not greet him, do not talk to him_ , she had said. So when the doorbell rang, followed by impatient banging on the door, Elmyra got up silently and let the group walk in without a word.

First came two regular ShinRa grunts, the type that usually stood guard outside the train stations that led to the Plate. Behind them, stood the same man Aeris had seen on the pamphlets. Sephiroth looked a lot less heroic in person: there was no victorious pose or an air of grandeur like the way ShinRa portrayed him; instead, he was serious and held a stiff posture common to those in the military. Aeris did not get up from the dinner table, and made no eye contact with any of them until Elmyra was again seated by her side. The two grunts wore helmets that hid their faces, but Sephiroth did not. His eyes were strangely bright for that time of the evening, without any lit lamps as a direct light source, but Aeris held her gaze until he looked away.

“That will be all, you may return to your post,” were his first words. His tone, like his posture, was stiff and proper, and he didn’t need to speak loudly to have his orders heard. Speaking in a normal conversation tone was enough to make the grunts immediately salute him and remove themselves from the building.

“Madam, thank you for having me in your residence. I shall do my best not to be an inconvenience, I only require a room with a bed and a desk to work on.”

Aeris saw her mother’s lips pressed together — him being polite probably infuriated her even more than if he had acted entitled to something; the insinuation that they were doing him a favor instead of being forced to host people from ShinRa was appalling for her too. She put a hand on Elmyra’s shoulder and took a set of keys from her hand, then turned to Sephiroth. She then walked towards the staircase, without looking to see if he would follow, and showed him to the guest room, handing him one of the keys.

It wasn’t large, but it was spacious enough to hold a wooden bed, a battered couch, and a desk in the far left corner. Next to the couch, there was a box full of books and other assorted items, things that were moved from the attic when they realised their roof had a leak.

“Thank you. Good evening.”

She turned her back to him without replying, and went downstairs.

…

Later that night, Aeris and Elmyra had their supper interrupted by the sound of Sephiroth pacing on the room above them, then walking down the stairs. Both of them stopped eating their bland soup — made with canned vegetables and some starch, which was all they could afford — and looked up to him, waiting for him to speak.

“Madam, I am sorry to interrupt your supper.”

He waited for a response or some sort of interaction, but had none.

“I found an old violin in a box that was in the room. Would it trouble you if I played it on my spare time? Again, I do not wish to inconvenience you, and I will keep the playing to sensible hours.”

Elmyra had a disgusted look in her face — was the man even aware she couldn’t say no? Who in their right mind would deny something asked from a SOLDIER General? ShinRa’s war hero? It drove her mad that she had to comply. She nodded, without looking him in the eye, and went back to eating in silence. As soon as he was upstairs, she lowered her head and broke down sobbing. Her husband’s possessions, in the hands of ShinRa men. The sobs were muffled by the sound of the violin being tuned, and Aeris held her and whispered comforting words like the older woman did to her when she was a child.

 


End file.
